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Engineering, Building, and Architecture

Not many museums collect houses. The National Museum of American History has four, as well as two outbuildings, 11 rooms, an elevator, many building components, and some architectural elements from the White House. Drafting manuals are supplemented by many prints of buildings and other architectural subjects. The breadth of the museum's collections adds some surprising objects to these holdings, such as fans, purses, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, and other objects bearing images of buildings.

The engineering artifacts document the history of civil and mechanical engineering in the United States. So far, the Museum has declined to collect dams, skyscrapers, and bridges, but these and other important engineering achievements are preserved through blueprints, drawings, models, photographs, sketches, paintings, technical reports, and field notes.

This instrument has two arms. The first arm is 9" long. Made of German silver, it has a brass and steel tracer point. The arm is evenly divided into tenths and numbered from 5 to 38. It fits into a brass carriage, painted black, which also holds a white plastic measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial. Screws on the carriage adjust the length of the tracer arm. The carriage is marked: No 22241.

An 8" brass (painted black) pole arm fits into a hole in the carriage. A cylindrical brass weight is attached to the other end. The arm is marked: G. Coradi, Zürich Switzerland Keuffel & Esser Co New York. An oblong steel testing plate is marked for 0", 1", 2", and 3". It is also marked: G. Coradi Zürich.

A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with purple velvet. A printed paper chart is pasted inside the case. The chart has columns for Scales, Position of the vernier on the tracer bar, Value of the unit of the vernier on the measuring roller, and Constant. The values in the Position and Constant columns are handwritten in the same hand that indicates the Coradi firm manufactured this planimeter with serial number 22,241 on July 15, 1914. Keuffel & Esser stamped the chart with its model number, 4240.

Gottlieb Coradi (1847–1929) began to make wheel and disc polar planimeters in the early 1880s. In 1894 he made the pole arm higher than the tracer arm and connected the arms with a ball joint. This "compensating" planimeter could trace in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, preventing errors introduced by planimeters made in the Amsler style. In 1901 K&E began selling Coradi's compensating planimeter for $36.00. In 1936 the firm began offering the planimeter under the company's Paragon brand name and charged $49.00. K&E stopped selling the instrument in 1939. The Interstate Commerce Commission transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1963. ID number 1977.0112.02 is an instruction manual.

This German silver instrument has two arms pivoted at one end. One arm has a tracer point and index marks for four ratios: 1 square D. (centimeters or meters, perhaps), 15 square inches, 10 square inches, and 10 square K. (probably chains). A screw assembly adjusts the length of the tracer arm. A support for the tracer point prevents it from tearing the paper. Two numbers are stamped underneath the arm: 35, which is also underneath the tracer point, and 381.

The other arm is jointed. A notch in the jointed part of that arm fits around a screw that in turn fits into a rectangular metal weight that is faced with brass. The weight is marked: 381. A piece of paper is attached to the bottom of the weight. A cylindrical German silver weight may be placed in the end of the arm. The longer part of the arm is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co NEW YORK. It is also marked: 35. A carriage at the pivot holds a measuring wheel with vernier and a horizontal registering dial. A hardwood case has green velvet lining the supports. On the bottom of the case is written: BUREAU C AND R.

Keuffel & Esser sold this planimeter as model 1102 from 1892 to 1901, and as model 4220 from 1901 to 1936. Since the rectangular brass weight was only depicted in catalogs before 1901, this example is probably a model 1102. However, the construction of the jointed arm is different from the illustration in the 1892 and 1895 catalogs. The jointed arm is like the illustration in catalogs printed between 1901 and 1936, but the brass weight is neither mentioned nor shown in these catalogs. The serial number, 381, dates this instrument as older than 1985.0112.218, whose jointed arm does not look like either of the catalog illustrations. That instrument has a celluloid measuring wheel, but that piece is made of German silver on this instrument.

The citation information for this 16-page tissue paper pamphlet is: Instructions for Operating Ever-There Slide Rule No. 4098 (New York: Keuffel & Esser, 1932). The pamphlet describes an earlier version of 1989.0325.06. It lists various uses for slide rules and provides detailed drawings and explanations for reading numbers and making calculations on the slide rule. Sample problems are solved in multiplication and division, proportion, squares and square roots, cubes and cube roots, trigonometry, and logarithms.

This tarnished German silver instrument has two arms pivoted at one end. One arm has a tracer point and index marks for four ratios: 1 square D. (centimeters or meters, perhaps), 15 square inches, 10 square inches, and 10 square chains. A screw assembly adjusts the length of the tracer arm. A support for the tracer point prevents it from tearing the paper. Two numbers are stamped underneath the arm: 31, which appears to overstamp the number 33, and 690.

The other arm is jointed. A cylindrical weight may be placed in the end of that arm. Underneath the weight is marked: 35. The jointed part of the arm is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co N.Y. Underneath the arm is stamped: 31. A carriage at the pivot holds a white plastic measuring wheel with vernier and a horizontal metal registering dial.

A mahogany case has dark blue velvet lining the supports. A leather pouch holds the weight. A paper chart for adjusting the tracer arm is held in the lid by black plastic edges and brass screws. The columns are labeled: Proportion, Adjustement [sic] on tracer-arm, and Value of unit of the Vernier. "Sq. units" is handwritten above the first entry in the Proportion column (1:1,000). The vernier entry for proportion 1:4,000 has been changed from 100 to 160 square meters.

Keuffel & Esser sold this planimeter as model 1102 from 1892 to 1901 and as model 4220 from 1901 to 1936. It sold for $28.00 in 1909 and for $45.50 in 1936. The serial number, 690, and lack of rectangular support for the joint in the weighted arm suggest that this example was made later than 1981.0348.01. Wesleyan University donated this planimeter to the Museum in 1984–1985 with a large collection of plaster and string mathematical models purchased in 1895 from the Darmstadt, Germany, firm of L. Brill.

The booklet explains the operation, care, and use of compensating polar planimeters, with several pages on tracing areas and making calculations. Five tables of factors and settings for scale drawings or maps are provided. The booklet also discusses factors influencing the accuracy of the instrument and highlights adjustments and measurements unique to K&E model 4242, which had adjustable arms. See 1999.0250.01 and 1998.0032.03. Finally, the general mathematical theory of the polar planimeter is outlined.

This duplex linear slide rule is made of mahogany coated with celluloid. There are DF and D scales on one side of the base and K, A, D, and L scales on the other side. There are CF, CIF, and C scales on one side of the runner and B, S, T, and CI scales on the other side. The scales are 20 inches long (the "5" in the model number refers to a rule with scales 20 inches long) and closely divided. The indicator is made of glass with a plastic frame.

The base is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO.N.Y.; PAT. JUNE 5. ’00; DEC. 22. ’08; MADE IN U.S.A. The runner is marked: 4088-5. The serial number, on the other side of the runner, is: 72287. The slide rule is stored in a dark brown cardboard and glued leather box.

Keuffel & Esser published catalogs in 1899, 1902, 1905, 1909, 1912, 1915, 1921, 1927, and 1936. Model 4088-2 (8 in.) and 4088-3 (10 in.) slide rules first appeared in the 1913 printing of the 1912 catalog (facing p. 304). Model 4088-5 was first mentioned in 1921 (p. 239) and then again in 1927 (p. 302). In 1927 and in the 1930s (but not in 1921), the front of the runner had a B scale in addition to the S, T, and CI scales. By 1936, the 4088-5 was replaced by the N4088-5 (p. 314). On this basis, the rule dates from between 1922 and 1935. Additionally, the donor reported that he received the slide rule from a friend in about 1930. The instrument sold for $20.00 in 1927. Compare this object to MA*318476 and 1986.0790.02.

The adjustable tracer arm on this German silver and bronzed brass instrument is evenly divided to tenths of a unit, with each unit equal to 5mm, and numbered from 5 to 36. The measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial are white plastic. A second vernier is severely tarnished, made of German silver, and used with the scale on the tracer arm. The carriage for the measuring wheel is marked with a serial number: 12960. The pole arm fits inside a square tube and cylindrical weight, allowing the arm's length to be adjusted. The pole arm has a scale like the scale on the tracer arm, but it is numbered from 30 to 35.

Unlike earlier versions of the instrument, such as 1999.0250.01, the tube has an opening with a vernier. The tube is marked on top: K+E KUEFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) PARAGON. It is also marked: MADE IN (/) GERMANY. The side of the tube is marked: 12960. An oblong German silver testing rule is marked for 5 sq. in., 10 sq. in., and 100 sq. cm. A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with chamois leather. The top of the case is marked: K+E. The serial number and tracer and pole arm settings are written in ink on a K&E label pasted inside the lid. The number 20,475 is written in pencil on the label. See 1991.0882.02 for instructions.

K&E imported planimeters from the Coradi firm in Zurich to sell as model 4242 from 1901 to about 1936. When K&E began to offer model 4242 as part of its Paragon line, it changed suppliers to a German company. The instrument was not available during World War II. K&E introduced its K+E logo in 1949, and it added a tracer lens between 1958 and 1960. The price was $98.00 in 1949 and $90.00 in 1956. According to the donor, this instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993).

References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4242 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4242family.htm; accession file.

This German silver instrument consists of three pieces. The first is a seven-inch tracer arm with a tracer point at one end and a measuring wheel with vernier and a peg at the other end. The peg fits into a groove on the second piece, which is a rectangular plate with a removable sliding ruler that is divided on all four sides into 96, 120, 150, and 180 parts. A pivoting rectangular blade is at the right end of the second piece. This piece is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co N.Y. Pat. Dec. 8. 1903 No 7. The third piece is a folding L-shaped ruler. The long arm is graduated to 1/4-inch and numbered from 1 to 5. The short arm is divided to tenths of an inch and numbered from 5 to 20.

A rectangular hardwood case has green velvet lining the supports for the instrument. A small ivory plate screwed inside the lid is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK (/) ST. LOUIS CHICAGO (/) SAN FRANCISCO.

Frederick (Frank) R. Williams of Syracuse, N.Y., patented this planimeter. He may have been a merchant who sold his grocery store in 1906. The instrument was never advertised in Keuffel & Esser catalogs. Since this example was donated by K&E in 1971 and since the serial number is so low (7), perhaps K&E manufactured it as a prototype or for use with its own steam engine indicators, but decided not to offer it for sale to the public. Compare to the linear planimeter invented by John Coffin, MA*323708, 1987.0107.03, MA*323705, and MA*323706.

This paper, brass, and wood cylindrical slide rule has 20 sets of A, B, and C scales, with each set 47 cm in length. The scales are printed on paper that is glued around a sliding brass drum (with wooden handles) and on brass slats that are attached to a round brass frame on either end. The frame is screwed to a wooden base. A sheet of instructions for THACHER'S CALCULATING INSTRUMENT is glued along the top front of the base.

The right side of the paper on the drum is marked in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y. A small silver metal tag affixed to the front right of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW-YORK (/) 663. Wayne Feely has suggested that K&E began manufacturing (as opposed to simply distributing) Thacher cylindrical slide rules in 1887, indicating 1887 is the earliest date for this example of the instrument. The latest date for the instrument is 1900, because K&E changed the design of the brass frame at that time.

The object is contained in a wooden case that bears no identifying marks. According to the accession file, the rule was found in a Smithsonian collections storage locker in the Arts & Industries Building about 1964.

This is a one-sided 79-inch demonstration slide rule from 1967. It is made of painted wood, with a plastic cursor that has a wooden frame. In the early seventeenth century, the Scottish mathematician John Napier discovered functions known as logarithms which make it possible to reduce problems of multiplication, division, and taking the roots of numbers to additions and subtractions.

On a slide rule, the logarithms of numbers are represented as lengths. To multiply, one length is set on the base, and another added to it using the slide. The sum of the logarithms, which gives the product, is read off using the cursor. This slide rule also has scales for finding the squares, cubes, square roots, and cube roots of numbers.

Slide rules first became popular in the United States in the 1890s, especially among engineers and scientists. Use of the device was taught in high schools and universities using oversized instruments like this. During the 1960s, the United States placed new emphasis on teaching mathematics and science. This slide rule was purchased and used at a high school for girls in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By the late 1970s, slide rules would be almost entirely displaced by handheld electronic calculators.